Dave Ramsey and Financial Independence

Dave Ramsey has helped more people get out of debt and enjoy financial Peace likely than any other person in history. Though he talks with the bit of a Southern drawl and will invoke the Bible to help make a point, his financial advice his timeless and timely for those feeling the budgetary pinch due to covid or simply those who are ready to take control of their budgets.

Of budgeting, he says to give every dollar a name. This is a great way to think about zero based budgeting and reinforces that savings is an important part of the picture. Budgeting goes beyond earmarking of funds and helps raise awareness of where it all goes so you don’t end up with too much month at the end of the money.

He speaks to everyday millionaires, everyday. What most of these millionaires have in common is not that they inherited a bunch of money but that they saved their way to success and invested in real estate and the stock market, often with low cost, broad-based mutual funds or exchange traded funds. Sure, success came after the hard work and mistakes, but once you learn the power of compounding, you can’t allow yourself to keep making stupid decisions.

In addition to Dave’s daily radio program which is available recorded on YouTube, Dave has a number of programs for those on the path to financial Independence including Financial Peace University as well as his simple Baby Steps.

While personally I find the name Baby Steps to be a bit juvenile or condescending, some people need it boiled down to the simplest concepts. Everyone starts somewhere.

What we often forget is to begin with the end in mind, and for Dave Ramsey, that goal is to be able to live and give like no one else.

Dave Ramsey’s car buying advice

Dave has practical advice for those looking to buy a car and even though he is a car guy himself, how dealers take advantage of naive buyers is one of the things that he gets most excited about with regards to reforming his callers financial situations.

His car buying advice centers around two main principles. The first is not to buy a brand new car until you have a net worth of at least $1 million dollars. The second is to not have more than 50% of your income tied up in things with motors or engines, because they always depreciate. Two other considerations are to always pay cash and never lease.

As someone who has personally done over 2000 car deals, this advice is shockingly good in that it is both practical, simple, and applies no matter what the numbers are.